November 15, 2018:
On Wednesday, Ashok Chawla, Yes Bank’s non-executive chairman, stepped down with immediate effect after corruption charges.
Bank said that Chawla has tendered his resignation as he felt the private lender would need a chairman who could devote more time and attention while chief executive Rana Kapoor is on his way out.
It mentioned in a stock exchange filing.“The bank shall in due course announce the appointment of a chairman, post RBI's approval."
Yes Bank, the fourth largest private sector bank, has been in amidst of a transition as it is looking to find a successor to promoter-cum chief executive Rana Kapoor, who’s term is slated to end on January 31, 2019.
Reserve Bank of India denied his extension even as the bank’s board sought an extension for him till April at a minimum.
Chawla is also the chairman of National Stock Exchange since 2016. People has questioned the possibility of a conflict of interest in his dual role.
Last month the bank board received letters questioning Chawla's continuation as chairman after being named in the charge-sheet filed by the CBI in July.
A person with direct knowledge of the meeting said,"Following these letters the board asked the bank to take an advice from the RBI. The RBI was non-committal about the continuation of Chawla on the board but had warned about implications if the finance ministry asks questions on his continuation."
Yes Bank's NRC includes independent directors Brahm Dutt & Mukesh Sabharwal and non-independent non-executive director and former public sector banker, Subhash Kalia.
All three are also part of the committee formed by the bank's board to find a sucessor to CEO Rana Kapoor before January 31.
The NRC also met on Tuesday following which it was decided that the banks head of audit committee Vasant Gujarathi should resign as head of the audit committee due to adverse comments of the RBI on the bank's audit.
The bank has announced the appointment of Uttam Prakash Agarwal as an additional director (independent), with immediate effect, to replace Gujarati.
Bank’s net profit dropped 3.8% year-on-year at Rs 965 crore for September quarter due to one-time hit on mark-to-market provisioning (MTM), predominantly on corporate bonds.
Picture Source :
